Three Holocaust survivors from the Los Angeles area won an important legal skirmish Monday in a lawsuit against an international commission that was set up to help victims collect on claims against European insurance companies. Siding with plaintiffs Si Frumkin of Studio City, Manny Steinberg of West Hills and Dr. Jack Brauns of West Covina, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald S. W. Lew sent their lawsuit back to Los Angeles County Superior Court, where it was originally filed.

Michael quickly realized that A Place for Us wasn't the place for him. Overweight and suffering from stress, the New Yorker had flown cross-country to attend what was advertised as a weight-loss clinic in sunny Southern California. The air fare was free and the treatment, he was told, fully covered by his Blue Cross plan.

Earthquake-battered 20th Century Insurance Group says it must triple its earthquake insurance rates for most of its 75,000 customers if it wants to stay in that line of business and survive. The Woodland Hills-based insurer--which has had nearly two-thirds of its statutory surplus wiped out by an estimated $600 million in claims from the Northridge earthquake--told state regulators Wednesday that without the requested increases, the next big quake will leave it bankrupt.

Adriana Fernandez was a struggling masseuse when a law firm began sending her clients who claimed they had been injured in traffic accidents. Business picked up, but Fernandez said she began to suspect something was wrong when those clients would show up for one visit and never return. Also, she testified recently, it seemed a little unusual that she was asked to bill the law practice of Thomas F. Mullen in Costa Mesa at least $3,500 per client, regardless of whether they received physical therapy.

Medicare is investigating reports that CVS Caremark Corp., the country's second-largest drugstore chain, has refilled prescriptions and submitted insurance claims without patients' approval, according to an official with knowledge of the matter. The Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched the investigation into CVS' refill practices, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and therefore requested anonymity.

What if ticks were an endangered species? Would we preserve critical habitat for them? Fund a captive-tick breeding program? It would be hard for me, as a hiker and dog owner, to summon any sympathy for these disgusting little pests. If they were gone, would the greater environment miss them in any way? Just a fantasy. Ticks are, of course, thriving and a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control finds that they are, in fact, responsible for 10 times more Lyme disease than previously thought - 300,000 cases a year nationwide.

Tallying damages from the devastating October wildfires, insurers expect homeowners' claims ultimately to total $1.26 billion. So far, they have paid out $752.7 million, settling 84% of the 12,902 residential fire claims, according to a poll by the Insurance Information Network of California, whose member companies write more than 66% of the homeowner insurance policies in the state.

Healthtronics, a private Woodland Hills provider of software and services to hospitals, said it has established a partnership with Inglewood-based Imperial Bank to handle insurance claims for doctors and hospitals. The company said Imperial Bank, through its small business investment company, has bought a substantial equity interest in Healthtronics, but declined to say the value of the deal.